LT TTC & Assisted Conception May-June 2010

Hi Ladies
Thanks once again for your wishes. Unfortunately I couldnt resist - I think im a serial POAS'er now LOL. It was BFN - 10 dpo approx so maybe a bit early. I'll wait until AF due now and see what happens. Wont spend anymore money on HPT's until AF is late. Im still feeling weird and have had a lot of extra mc - so not giving up just yet for this cycle.

Kaybee ~ thanks heaps! GL and :crossfingers: Are you nearly at BT or just starting the cycle?

Lairdoz ~ Sorry Ive never had a FET but im sure your docs know what's best - try not too stress I guess and GL hun, :crossfingers: everything goes to plan.

Dreams into Reality ~ Hi and :welcome: This is a great thread to be in, all of the ladies are so supportive and friendly. GL for your upcoming IVF, hope it comes round quick.

Littlemiss ~ Hoping those follies get better for you - sounds like they will and just need a bit of time. All the best hun, GL. I also would like to know if there is anything out there to say we shouldnt or can drink whilst on hormone injections, ive quite often wondered the same thing.

Justina ~ So sorry about your BFN - big hugs hun. Glad you can have another try so soon. You'll get there.

Lisa B ~ Good luck with the jabbing, you'll find it easy after a few. All the best for the cycle!

Hi Ladies

lairdoz I think your clinic is right ovulation day is coounted as zero. Don't stress they know what they are doing I too have been confused in the past

Kaybee what an amazing story fancy being pregnant and not knowing it I'm thinking quite a few of us in here would love to be in that position

Loops good luck and I pray AF stays away and all the weird things you have been feeling are you little one snuggling in for the next nine months

Justina so sorry this wasn't your month glad to hear that you already have a plan and are moving forward. Just remember though to take some time for yourself and let all your emotions out before you start

LMM I don't think a drink on the weekend will harm your eggs remeber they take months to form and then get to this stage so a drink now want make any difference and plus my acupunturist said that its ok to have the occasional drink in moderation if it makes you feel better. We cant deprive ourselves of everything

AFM had another scan this morning and am doing a trigger tonight. My FS doesn't want to wait for natural ovualtion as last month it took ages and she feels that may have contributed to my negative result. I have my FET scheduled for Tuesday doing some more acupunture tomorrow and then I'll be on asprin and pressaries after transfer. Feeling good about this one DH gets to come for once so maybe everything is finally aligning for me

Loops: aw hun hugs but loike I said it aint over till the fat af sings... lol
Terry: Goodluck with your trigger
AFM: Have been having some weird twinges on my right hand side of the tummy am hoping it's our bundle burying down for 9 months yesterday was milking and I went to go put a set of cups on and I all of a sudden felt like someone had piched me really hard on my right hand side down near uterus and also on my left nipple at the same time it hurt enough for me to drop the cups only lasted about 2 minutes
This morning dh came in and he'd washed his hands with an orange hand wash and it was too strong to be near him!!! Also I have been eating like a horse but am only able to eat small amopunts at a time and I have had to stop having coffee as yesterday monring I almost vomited in the cow shed and felt yuck had been happening for a few days felt alot better this morning am soooo hoping all these signs are good 6 days away seems too far

Hi everyone,

I'd love to know what tests I should be asking for as I had my appointment with the IVF clinic on Thursday and told the nurse I think I should have more tests done (I've only ever had the STD, rubella and hormone level blood tests - no internal tests etc). Anyway the nurse told me that the Doctor has reviewed my case and he doesn't think I need to worry about any other tests yet - but the problem is that I can't afford to try again after this next attempt and I'm not sure I want to waste my money trying now if my chance of success is going to be no different to last time.

Apparently he has me down for an antagonist cycle this time... so when I get my next period (this one just finished last weekend) I will start on the pill for 3 weeks and then after that pill period I will start on injections (no synarel this time). She told me that Synarel can reduce egg quality... any one else heard of this?

I was told they won't increase my dose of gonal-F as I had a good number of follicles and eggs last time (12 eggs) but only 3 fertilized and only 1 developed. Apparently they believe this is due to my egg quality! So I'm not sure that it is worth wasting more money... I don't understand if I have poor egg quality (I'm only 36) then isn't it only going to get worse with age? So maybe I should give up now before I'm completely broke.

I find my clinic extremely frustrating as they don't want to answer any questions. They just say "The doctor has reviewed your case and this is what he has written" or "Well he has reviewed your file and he hasn't requested any tests" or "The doctor would have written in your file if he felt it would help"! I've only ever seen the "Doctor" twice in 22 months of going to the clinic. Seems like he (as the owner of the clinic) is raking in a ton of money and hardly doing any work for it.

On top of all this I turn 37 this month and last year I had vowed to stop trying by the end of last year and then when I decided to keep trying early this year I had vowed I would stop before my birthday. So I'm feeling very frustrated and lost and just don't know whether to quit, sell my farm and hit the road and live the sort of lifestyle I wouldn't have been able to have with a baby (so atleast maybe I won't feel so bad about failing).

Then last night I got a text message from my brother's wife to say she is pregnant (due in august). She said in her message they decided not to tell anyone until they were sure it would be okay as they lost a baby at 22 weeks gestation a few years ago. I know how much that loss hurt them but I just felt so angry reading her message as they already have 6 kids and they are both on welfare. they both smoke heaps of pot and when the youngest two were babies she didn't even look after them... nighttime feeds were left up to my brother and the daytime looking after was done by the older children. I remember visiting one time and the 4 year old was left to give the baby it's bottle while the mum smoked a bong in the "smoke room". It just seems so unfair that they can keep spitting out kids and they don't even properly look after the ones they have! I guess I just have to hope that mabye having lost the other baby might make them appreciate this one more. But I can't be happy for them and I don't think I could cope with seeing her pregnant (certainly not at the moment). I saw her a few weeks ago and now reflecting back she looked like she had put on some weight but I didn't realise she was pregnant. Apparently now it is becoming obvious so that is another reason they have decided to start telling people. She invited us to attend the youngest birthday party in a couple of weeks but I can't go... I just won't be able to act happy and excited for them because I'm not.

I realise my parents must have known for ages and I feel weird about that too... they knew and would have heard me ***** about how unfair it is that my sister in law has spat out so many kids and doesn't look after them and here she was pregnant again and my parents just bit their tongue. I guess it would have been very hard for mum and dad because they knew I was going through IVF.

Sorry everyone... just had to share with someone and I knew you would probably be able to relate to how I'm feeling.

Lori
DD (13)
Started donor search Dec 06, Started donor insemination Jan 09, Started IVF Feb 10. 1st cycle - chem preg - BFN.

Lori, I have read that the antagonist protocol is supposed to produce the best egg quality, so if that is your issue, hopefully this will give you the best chance possible. If you want to push the testing issue, can you just be blunt and tell them that this is the last one you can afford so you don't want to find out there was an undiagnosed problem after it - you need to know now. I'm still really ticked off that we did 4 IVF with our old Dr who refused to check if I had endometriosis (even though I have lots of classic symptoms) and I'm sure that was the reason none of them succeeded.

Sending lots of sticky vibes to those of you suffering through the 2ww!

Thanks Ladies :-)

Lori - Im doing antagonist cycle next time too. Hopefully as they say it is the best for producing eggies. Each time with down reg I only got 7 eggs and none to freeze so thats why they have decided to try this with me. GL with it all hun, thinking of you!

LMM - 5.40 is so early to leave you poor thing. I'm not going to worry about the odd glass of wine. I figure if it was really that detrimental my FS would have said something. I do know that feeling of just trying to do something different to get a little edge on fertility. GL with scan on Tuesday.

Loops - :crossfingers:for a BFP in a few days.

Terry - :goodluck: Hope its your month. Your FS seems to be on the ball.

Truebule: :crossfingers:your symptoms all sound positive, hopefully a BFP in a few days.

Lori - if you want more tests you should definitely push for them. You do need to pay for some tests but if you think about the cost of IVF both financial and emotional I think it's worth it. I decided to have them all up front as I didn't want to get several cycles down the track and discover something was preventing a pregnancy. I see my FS regularly as she does all my scans etc. I don't think I'd like having a FS who just saw me periodically. I hadn't heard that about syneral, now I'm a bit worried as I'm on it right now. 36/37 is still okay with IVF - according to my FS. She said it got really tricky after 40, and you therefore are still in the running. It must be a difficult decision trying to decide at what point to stop trying. It's not fair that some people seem to be super fertile and others really struggle. I do feel for you and I would also find it difficult to cope.

AFM: the gonal needle is a bit harder to use than the puregon, the plunger is a bit stiff. EPU (providing all goes well) is around the long weekend. How uncomfortable/painful is it when you wake up from EPU? When I woke up from my lap. I was in considerable pain I think it was the dye test part or the endometrial biopsy part which caused the pain. I don't want to feel like that again.

Hey Ladies,

No Justina, that's just not fair. You are inspiring in how positive you are being about it all though. You seem determined to not let that crappy bfn get in your way. Hope your herbs and acu get everything working perfectly for this next cycle.

Loops - like everyone else has said, it might still be too early to know. Guess it's better to not get hopes up for any longer than necessary though. I won't uncross everything just yet

Trueblue - not long to go and all sounding VERY promising!

Terry - Looks like it could be your month! It feels so much more, I dunno, 'right' when DH can be there for ET. Can I ask what you have to take the aspirin for after ET?

LMM - how frustrating that they've closed your subclinic - couldn't they just wait till you finish this cycle and get your BFN? I don't know for sure on the drinking thing, but surely if everyone else can drink, smoke, etc, etc and have healthy eggs and pregnancies then I would think it'd be fine.

Lori - sounds like you are pretty low right now. My brother's wife is also pregnant and due the exact same week I was due (before mc a couple of months ago). I feel really awful but I don't want to see them and we have all these family do's coming up. Everyone keeps saying to me 'wow you must be so happy you're going to be an aunty again'. I don't know the 'right' way to deal with these feelings but I know they are my feelings and they're real and if I ignore them they'll get worse. So far whenever I've seen them I've managed to get through somehow, but have spent the next day/night crying. So, I'm feeling your pain mate! Your FS sounds a bit like mine (no, mine's not that bad) but whenever I have an appointment he's just really chirpy and tells me to be positive - I don't have a problem with that advice, and despite how I may sound on here, I am fairly positive - it's just that from him I want answers and explanations (or at least tests) and if I need cheering up I'll talk to a friend/DH/a counseller or BB friends!

God I ramble on and haven't even gotten to me - nothing much happening with me yet - only taking one estradiol pill each night until scan next week to look at my hopefully lovely thick endometrium. ;) Don't think my first acupuncture did its job at relaxing me - I came home and had an argument with DH straight away - hmmm, not a good start :doh:

Lori - My FS also thought I had a problem with egg quality as last cycle we got the best number of eggs ever (13) but of those only 3 made it to blasty stage & they weren't very highly graded. This cycle i'm taking an additional drug to improve the egg quality called 'Luveris'. You mix it up a bit like the pregnyl then inject into your tummy. Apparently it's not that widely used in Aus as it's really expensive but my clinic had been give some 'freebies' from the drug company which they gave to me. So hopefully it does the job! Have you tried making another appt with your FS? As it's not the nurses that make the decision as to what to test for it may be best to have another face to face with your doctor.

LisaB - you tend to feel more uncomfy rather than in 'pain' after the pick up. I've also had a lap done which was sooooo painful & thank god the egg pick up is nothing like that so try not to stress too mcuh!

Trueblue - only another week to go good luck!

Loops - Lets hope you just tested too early

AFM the clinic phoned today to ask to go in on Monday for a BT & scan. To be honest i assumed it would be Tue as I know they don't usually do U/S on a public holiday but I guess they are! Good for me though as I won't have to get up as early because there will be no peak hour traffic yay!! I done step aerobics today & could really feel my ovaries bouncing around so hopefully my little eggys are growing in there! Thanks also on the advice regarding the wine I will be partaking in a glass or two over the weekend.

Hi Ladies,

Sorry to jump in here. I'm usually just lurking in this thread these days, but I thought I should add my two cents on a few issues you guys have been talking about:

1) not to put a damper on things, but my FS and the nurses at my clinic all advised me not to drink alcohol at all while TTC. They said it could lower the chance of the cycle being successful. During my cycle, I also took a few fertility books out of the library and all of them mentioned studies showing that fertility rates are higher among women who are not drinking at all while TTC than among women who are having even the occasional glass of wine. I'm not sure exactly why that is but imagine that the wine must indeed have the potential to affect egg quality. Trust me, I love to have a glass (or a bottle -eek!) of wine as much as the next person, so I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but wanted to share since I know most of you are trying to do everything possible to maximize your chances of success, and if this helps any of you get your BFP quicker, then it's worth my taking the time to post this.

2)littlemissmoo - just wanted to warn you that as you progress in the stimming, be careful about the step aerobics b/c as your ovaries get bigger, if you bounce around too much you run the risk of ovarian torsion, where the fallopian tubes twist. It's apparently rare but potentially very serious, and could cause you to lose the fallopian tube. (That's why, ladies, if you have serious pain "down there" after vigorous exercise while stimming, you should get checked by your FS or emergency room immediately.) Apparently (according to what I've read) the theory is that our ovaries are suspended in our bodies similar to the way a man's testicles are suspended in their balls (sorry for the graphic image!), and when they get larger and heavier than normal, that delicate suspension can be affected. Normally, the ovaries only contain one or occasionally 2 large follicles, so lots of jumping movement is not likely to cause any harm. But when we're stimming and having multiple large follies inside our ovaries, the ovaries get much larger and heavier and can move around in ways they're not supposed too, which can lead to the twisted tubes. So my FS and clinic warned me to cut back on exercise involving lots of bouncing (aerobics, running, etc) as we got closer to EPU. Also, the ovaries can stay swollen for 1-2 weeks after EPU (this sounds like it's related to same reason why OHSS can take that long to develop), so I was warned that that was another reason to be careful after EPU, although after ET you need to be careful anyway since you are not supposed to overheat the embie that has been transferred.

Hope this info is useful to some of you and good luck with your cycles!

KitKat72xx

Loops - sorry the HPT was neg. Hopefully it was just too early and your BFP is coming.

Justina - so sorry for you BFN - they suck.

Terry - GL with your FET on Tues.

True blue - those twinges and sense of smell etc sound like really good signs!!

Lori - just wanted to say be proactive about your tests. It's your body and your money. The last thing you want is to look back and think I should have asked for this or that.

LMM - hope your scan shows lots of good little follies.

Just my two cents worth on the wine - I've done both. I've been super, super healthy and I've done cycles where I've had a few wines throughout and for me the outcomes have been the same. My way of thinking is everything in moderation. I also know a friend whose, clinic, after transfer gives them a valium and a glass of bubbles. So who knows??

AFM - I am booked for my next FET Friday 11 June. Will be transferring two blasts - bring on lucky number 10!!

Cheers Trea

Loops12: Thank you!
Also wishing you luck with TTC, never give up, remember there is always hope in there some where :)

Terry: Good luck with the FET on Tuesday, I wish you all the best with and will be sending positive thoughts your way :)

TrueBlue: :crossfingers: it is a good sign of something good to come :)

Lori: I think if you feel they are not doing enough tests, you should push for more. Is it possible to go to another clinic and see another doctor?
Wishing you heaps of good luck and I hope it all works out for you! :)

Kaybee: Hoping your scan next week shows a thick endometrium. Realy hoping it goes well for you. :)

Littlemiss: Good luck with your scan and BT. Here's hoping it brings some great results :)

Trea: Lots of positive vibes are getting sent your way for your FET! :crossfingers: this is THE ONE!!

Hello again ladies
Sorry this is just a quick post at the moment (i will be on later for personals, sorry). i went to the clinic today to pick up meds as AF came yesterday..hooray! I had a blood test done (today being Day 2) and just had call from FN with result FSH = 8. She said that this is quite high and not the best saying "well, i wouldn't say you are menopausal yet though"...WTF!! :oThis nurse is known to be Little Miss Pessimistic! but now i am really worried. I've done fsh tests in the past and some have been as high as 12. think my last cycle i was about 9. So my question is, please be honest with me here.....is 8 too high for day 2? What do other clinics think?

Sorry for the questions, seems there is always SOMETHING to worry about :rolleyes:
Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend, is nice to see the sunshine out after all that rain!
Hooroo

Geez, your nurse is a scare-monger!! 8's ok....I'd love an 8!!! (but your 12's not so good). FSH is a flucuating thing, and despite my overall poor responses and disappointment, my FSH never went over 12.9. Anti-mulerian hormone (hope that's spelt correctly) is a much better guide to your like response. Mine was 1.8 which was crap (but meant I could seriously think more about alternatives to my ovaries!). Have you had your AMH checked?
But despite anything and everything, it only takes one! but I hope you get loads! GOOD LUCK!!

Thanks for that Sevie, i feel a lot better now! Yeah i had my AMH done was 10.8. i knew it would be lowish cause i only get about 3 or 4 eggs each collection (i'm 35 years young) Anyone else had their AMH tested, how does that compare? not sure what it all means really. i've been on the dhea for about 8 months now so maybe that is helping? dunno, am just trying to not think about it too much cause at the end of the day the body's gonna do what the body wants to do and there aint much we can really do about it!!...except keep praying for a miracle :pray:
will be back tomorrow, i have a lot of catching up to do on here and feeling a tad sleepy (am too old to be out partying on a sat night, how sad!!)
goodnight sleeptight

It's funny how one tiny comment by a professional has us in a tail spin but we can't help but think the worst... i think it's normal for us who are so used to everything being a nergative

AFM: Can't seem to stop eating but I can say that seeing the Sex and the City2 movie with mum has been awesome and have my photo's all framed up and ready to drop off at the comp tommorrow wish me luck girls if not to win something then to sell something... for a smallish sized comp there is always so much talent.
Am getting anxious and nervous about thursday i can't seem to stop myself from thinking so positive about all these signs I just wish we knew already

Hi everyone!
Hope you don't mind me joining in with you all over here. I'll no doubt have a LOT of catching up to do on where everyone's at.

A bit of background info for you:- DH and I currently TTC'ing #2, and are due for an FET the week after next (HRT assisted cycle). This will be our 4th t'fer as we try for #2. Hasn't been so easy this time around, but we'll get there (I hope!).

I look forward to getting to know you all and seeing BFP's all 'round!!!
Good luck ladies
Arielle
xx

hi ladies,

Just a quick question from me as I'm a work. Will do more personal's tonight.

I've taken Gonal now for 4 days and I don't feel much happening. I guess I feel a little bit tighter in the abdomen than normal but that's abour it. I am beginning to wonder if it's working. How many days has it taken for others to really feel that something is happening in the ovaries? Do you always feel something more than just a tightening?